


open cages

by fated_addiction



Series: check one [4]
Category: K-pop, Real Person Fiction, Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 02:06:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13847790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fated_addiction/pseuds/fated_addiction
Summary: "how do you do it?"or, when wendy kind of makes a decision.





	open cages

-

 

 

 

 

joy drops dramatically in the seat next to her.

she's all limbs now. long legs stretch out. an arm skews over her eyes. she sighs, just after. her lips pucker together.

"what's wrong?" wendy asks dryly.

joy doesn't move her arm. "how do you do it?"

"do what?"

"talk to joohyun unnie without killing her."

wendy snorts.

"it's impossible, right?" joy continues. basically ignoring her. "you say all the things you want to say and she doesn't _listen_. because listening is hard. because words are _hard_." joy groans. "all you want are answers. but you're not going to get them. because answers mean that it's going to be real for the both of you, one way or another."

"you're projecting." wendy's mouth twitches.

"am i?"

she's not. but wendy says nothing. she puts the magazine down that she was pretending to read. she has a radio schedule later. it's simple and she prefers it that way. call it a break or whatever, she thinks. then that's the problem. there's more time to think.

"you are." joy's dropped her arm. "or i am - it doesn't even matter. i think, sometimes, that we all live too close together. that we pick up each other's habits. and i kind of resent it."

"this is a lot," wendy replies. rolls her eyes. she stretches out. "but," and then she bites, "you're more volatile than us." she says _us_ to be pragmatic. her throat feels a little dry. "and i... i've had feelings for joohyun longer than i want to admit."

saying the words feel surreal. not because it's the first time, but because it feels like a norm. it's a little scary. it'll hit her that way too. between joy staring at her and wendy feeling herself realizing that she's actually said the words. comfortably. that's where the weight is. she groans and covers her face with her hands.

joy says something else. she probably responds. doesn't even think about it. because her heart is pounding. slowly. but it feels like it's happening all at once: it's poignant, uneasy, and her fingers begin to twitch and tremble. they drag over her face and then her legs. and then she's picturing irene, standing in front of her. her face feels hot. her palms are sticky.

"i hate you," she mutters. out loud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

the problem with being so close together? is that they are so close together.

radio schedules. cf schedules. contracts. rehearsals. rehearsals for rehearsals. it's cyclical, unabashedly so. something that wendy comes to hate and hide behind. but, in the middle of that, irene is also really good at finding her.

"i have a question."

they are standing in the bathroom. it's late. wendy has half her makeup off; her radio schedule ran longer than planned. she glances at irene in the frame of the door, her fingers pressing a little too hard against her face with a small towel.

"am i going to like the question?"

irene laughs. and might mean it too. "probably not," she murmurs. "i've been thinking about how to ask you. to, you know, lessen the blow."

"oh god," wendy says. her reply is muffled by her towel. she turns to face irene. "i mean, you might as well go for it then. i think it annoys me more that you haven't said anything to me already."

"okay." irene sighs. she steps into the bathroom and sits at the edge of the toilet. her knees fold neatly and she rubs her palms into her jeans. "i just want to say that -" and she stops.

"you're going to have to tell me eventually."

"it's not that _easy_ ," irene snaps. then stops. she smiles guiltily. "sorry," she mumbles. "it's just that i've said this to you in a million different ways, in my head, and it makes sense. each time. but then i look right at you and i panic. it's hard to look at you and try and tell you what i want to tell you because then i think about the consequences and then those are hard. because after the holding hands, the kissing, the going on small dates, it's more like _then_ what. and is that it? what happens when we can't figure that out? do we fail? will we ever be able to recover from that? i just... thinking about that and then thinking about losing you are two equally terrifying things. i know it's crazy and i'm probably panicking but i don't know how else to think about it. i don't know how else to -"

she stops. because wendy is staring. and wendy knows that she's staring. she just can't help it. every word out of irene's mouth is particular and painful. painful because she's right. she's also wrong. and then there's a counterpoint to everything else in between. wendy doesn't want to talk anymore. she doesn't want to think anymore. she just wants to reach out and touch irene. it's stupid and simple and her hand jerks forward just before she realizes it, her fingers curling around her palm. she holds onto irene's hand. and holds. and holds. and _holds_. because it's the only thing she can think of doing.

"i think i'm going to kiss you," she says. out loud, too. stares right at irene. feels her stomach jump into knots. "i'll probably regret it. because you just said a whole bunch of stuff that i think about a lot too. and honestly? i just don't care anymore. i'm going to kiss you and there's going to be consequences and we'll fight and cry and whatever, but i can't care about that. for a little while, i just want to have a moment. and then take the next one." she swings their hands. up, down, up down. "because that's the best i can do, you know? all i want to do is give you my best."

irene tilts her head up. wendy watches her eyes blur a little. they're glassy; wendy's eyes are wet, irene's lashes start to clean and they're both probably crying. but wendy honestly doesn't care. she watches irene though, still purse her lips and then nod. 

so wendy kisses her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

it's a kiss.

and the second one comes soon after, in the car, when everyone is sleeping on their way to a schedule. wendy watches their manager look away in the rearview mirror. tilts her head, then turns it. she grabs and gasps into irene's mouth, swallowing her surprised laugh and then pulling away quickly, like it's a game.

their fingers link together. or it's a promise.

she can give that back too.


End file.
